Blockade

A Maryland peace activist aboard the pro-Palestinian flotilla raided by Israeli commandos expressed guarded optimism Wednesday that the deadly episode would force Israel to relax its years-old blockade of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government "may have made a gross mistake," Edward L. Peck, a retired U.S. diplomat who lives in Chevy Chase, said in a telephone interview. "And so, this could lead to an improved situation for the people" of Gaza. "It's a horrible thing that happened to those Turks who died" in the Israeli attack.

A recent report on the violence in Gaza refers to Hamas' demand that Israel end its blockade of Gaza but neglects to mention that this is not a demand from Hamas alone ( "Israel says truce over after soldier apparently captured," Aug. 1). For years, the International Committee of the Red Cross has called the blockade "collective punishment imposed in clear violation of Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law. " Israeli human rights organizations have also spoken against Israel's closures of the Gaza Strip.

Thank you for publishing the lucid, information-rich op-ed piece by Laila El-Haddad ("Israeli brutality on land and at sea," June 3). Ms. El-Haddad has pointed out the arbitrary nature of the restrictions that Israel imposes upon 1.6 million Gazans. No wheelchairs or paper or children's books. Also, no coriander or house plants. These, and many more banned items, are Israel's means of inflicting collective punishment, a violation of the Geneva Convention. A related topic is the significance of the natural gas reserves that have been discovered off the coast of Gaza and the business negotiations connected with this discovery.

The article "Britain's Cameron calls Gaza a prison" (July 28) quotes Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron: "Let me also be clear that the situation in Gaza has to change ... Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp." World leaders and international aid groups continue to condemn Israel's starvation blockade of the civilian population of Gaza, calling on Israel to end, not just ease, their blockade. Unfortunately, the U.S. continues to finance, arm and give political support to Israel, due mainly to our politicians' fear of confronting the powerful pro-Israel lobby.

By Doug Struck and Doug Struck,Jerusalem Bureau of The Sun | March 1, 1995

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli squeeze on Lebanon continued yesterday as Israeli artillery opened fire on the southern part of the country and Israeli gunships maintained their three-week blockade of nearly 50 miles of Lebanese coast.Three Lebanese were killed in artillery bombardments that were aimed north of an Israeli-controlled strip in southern Lebanon, according to reports broadcast by state-run Israel Radio, which said the artillery was aimed at "terrorists."The Israeli blockade includes the Mediterranean ports of Sidon, Tyre and Damour, just 12 miles south of Beirut.

HAVANA -- As the United States goes through another Cuban crisis, I am in Cuba teaching geriatric medicine for the Ministry of Health and at an international medical conference with leading doctors from Europe and South America.Havana has greatly changed in the last two years. With market reforms, enterprising Cubans have opened many restaurants, coffee shops, repair shops and car dealerships. Pharmacy shelves are stocked.The endearing 1950s Chevies are still plentiful, but many newer cars, motorcycles and bicycles fight them for parking spaces.

JERUSALEM -- Fearful that the Lebanese government is trying to undermine its self-proclaimed security zone in southern Lebanon, Israel expanded yesterday a 2-week-old blockade of ports south of Beirut, Israel's chief negotiator with Lebanon confirmed."

By Megan K. Stack and Laura King and Megan K. Stack and Laura King,LOS ANGELES TIMES | September 8, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A passenger plane swept over downtown Beirut and sliced along the Mediterranean coast yesterday afternoon, marking the end of an Israeli-imposed air blockade that had isolated Lebanon for weeks. But a sea blockade remained in force. Israel vowed to keep control of its neighbor's waters until the Lebanese military and international forces were in place to prevent seaborne weapons smuggling. The Middle East Airlines flight from Paris landed at Beirut's airport just minutes after Israel relinquished its hold on Lebanon's skies.

PORT BOLIVAR, Texas - Buried in the sand not far off the Texas coast from the Bolivar lighthouse, the Denbigh, a Civil War blockade runner, is slowly revealing its secrets. With a team led by Texas A&M nautical archaeologist Barto Arnold, graduate students from across the country are helping salvage pieces of the side-wheel steamer that served as a lifeline to the Confederacy. The Denbigh earned fame for outrunning the U.S. Navy's blockades 13 times during the Civil War, first in Mobile, Ala., and later in Galveston, Texas.

BUFFALO, N.Y.-- The anti-abortion forces of Operation Rescue, facing strong opposition from pro-choice activists and poor local support in this heavily Roman Catholic city, yesterday suspended their efforts to blockade abortion clinics.The unexpected decision brought a halt to 11 days of sometimes violent protests marked by more than 400 arrests. But spokesmen for the organization said they might resume their street action by this morning.Operation Rescue spokeswoman Karen Swallow Prior said sessions of prayer and discussion would continue "indefinitely," but added that more direct action was likely before the operation, dubbed "Spring of Life," ends Saturday.

Thank you for publishing the lucid, information-rich op-ed piece by Laila El-Haddad ("Israeli brutality on land and at sea," June 3). Ms. El-Haddad has pointed out the arbitrary nature of the restrictions that Israel imposes upon 1.6 million Gazans. No wheelchairs or paper or children's books. Also, no coriander or house plants. These, and many more banned items, are Israel's means of inflicting collective punishment, a violation of the Geneva Convention. A related topic is the significance of the natural gas reserves that have been discovered off the coast of Gaza and the business negotiations connected with this discovery.

An excess of emotion appears to dominate recent discussion of the Israeli blockade of Hamas. Actually, Israel lives in peace with both Jordan and Egypt. There is no active belligerence with any of its other sovereign neighbors. Both portions of the future state of Palestine were parts of other sovereign countries. The West Bank was Jordanian; Gaza was part of Egypt. The recognized administration of Palestine is the Palestinian Authority (PA). This is basically a descendant of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

On May 29, two days before Israel's botched raid of six "humanitarian" ships bound for Gaza, Robert Naiman, the policy director of something called "Just Foreign Policy," wrote an item on the Huffington Post headlined "Gaza Freedom Flotilla Shows Awesome Power of Nonviolent Resistance." Mr. Naiman waxed lyrical about how the moral authority of nonviolence had compelled Turkish-controlled Cyprus to help the flotilla, while Greek-controlled Cyprus had allegedly caved to Israeli pressure in refusing to help the heirs of Gandhi (it couldn't have been because the Turks were up to no good)

Having recently returned from a 6 month sabbatical in Beersheva, Israel let me tell you the other side of the story that Laila El-Haddad misrepresented ("Israeli brutality — on land and at sea," June 3). Beersheva sits next to Gaza. We frequently heard rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel during our stay. Some friends live in Sderot, and their under 10-year-old children do not know life without sirens and running to shelters. Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, leaving in place economic infrastructure.

The coverage of the unfortunate incident in the seas near Gaza has focused thus far on whether Israel acted appropriately, with much international condemnation predictably alleging she did not. What is ignored in the typical focus on Israel as the aggressor in any conflict in that part of the world is whether Turkey was justified in what may turn our to be an at least unofficially sanctioned act of provocation. I have read several reports that speculate that Israel's action in enforcing its blockade of Gaza has endangered its relationship with its "closest" friend in the region.

A Maryland peace activist aboard the pro-Palestinian flotilla raided by Israeli commandos expressed guarded optimism Wednesday that the deadly episode would force Israel to relax its years-old blockade of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government "may have made a gross mistake," Edward L. Peck, a retired U.S. diplomat who lives in Chevy Chase, said in a telephone interview. "And so, this could lead to an improved situation for the people" of Gaza. "It's a horrible thing that happened to those Turks who died" in the Israeli attack.

MOSCOW -- Striking coal miners lifted a 10-day-old blockade of the Trans-Siberian and other vital railroads yesterday after the government promised to pay some overdue wages. But the breakthrough probably provided only a short pause in a disruptive clash over how to handle looming mine closures.Thousands of miners angered by the government's failure to pay them for months had been camping out on the rail lines to hinder traffic and transport, having despaired of drawing official attention with hunger strikes and work stoppages in pits destined for closure anyway.

By Tom Bowman and Jonathan Weisman and Tom Bowman and Jonathan Weisman,SUN NATIONAL STAFF | May 6, 1999

WASHINGTON -- After weeks of bellicose rhetoric that appeared to endorse an expansion of the war in Yugoslavia, Britain is now inclined to oppose a U.S.-proposed military blockade to thwart oil tankers supplying the Serbian army, Pentagon officials say.British diplomats insisted yesterday that no final decision had been made on the armed interdiction of oil and other supplies arriving at Yugoslav ports. But with Germany and France opposing a blockade, the waning British resolve appears to have doomed the U.S. initiative.

While much remains unclear about the early-morning Israeli raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza that left nine people dead, what is apparent is that some poor decisions were made — both by the pro-Palestinian activists who chose to defy the Israeli naval blockade and by those who sent the Israeli equivalent of the Navy SEALs rappelling down ropes from Black Hawk helicopters onto the ship's deck at 4 a.m. Monday's violence could prove...

Without its leading scorer, the Navy men's lacrosse team needed a strong effort from its defense against archrival Army. The Midshipmen got their wish as senior goalkeeper Tommy Phelan headlined a spirited performance to help propel No. 12 Navy to an 8-4 victory over the visiting Black Knights in the first game of the Smartlink Day of Rivals doubleheader Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium. The Midshipmen produced their third-lowest output of the season playing without junior attackman Tim Paul (sprained left ankle)